A possible change to the SEC Tournament

The Big East isn't the only conference tinkering with their league tournament this off-season.

If you remember, last week the Big East decided to do away with the double bye in the Big East tournament in large part because it hadn't offered the top four teams an advantage. In the two years it was in effect, five of the eight teams that received a double bye lost their first game.

Now the SEC is planning a change.

According to an AP report:

The [SEC] is looking at possibly scrapping its divisions and putting all 12 teams together for the regular season. It also might keep the divisions and seed the teams Nos. 1 through 12 for the postseason tournament.

It makes sense. The SEC East has been worlds better than the SEC West in basketball for a few years now.

Last season, the Eastern division sent Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt to the NCAA Tournament, with Tennessee and Kentucky reaching the Elite 8. The Western division had no one make the tournament, while Ole Miss and Mississippi State finished atop the division at 9-7.

But since the league tournament's format gives the top two teams in each division a bye, both the Rebels and the Bulldogs earned a pass to the quarterfinals. Three Western division teams made the semifinals despite having just a 9-27 record against the Eastern division during the regular season. Of those nine wins, five came against Georgia, the only team that never had a chance of making the big dance.

Personally, I don't think they need to get rid of the divisions. There are some great rivalries within the divisions, games that should be played twice every season. And by keeping the Eastern division intact, it allows the better schools more games against quality teams, and thus more chances to accumulate quality wins.

What the SEC does need to do, however, is scrap the format of the conference tournament, at least until the league becomes more balanced. Neither Ole Miss or Mississippi State deserved to get a bye in the league tournament last year. Tennessee was 11-5 in the league, and while Florida was also 9-7, they swept both Ole Miss and Mississippi State and earned the record playing in the tougher division.

The best teams in the conference should be rewarded.

Hopefully, the SEC will vote for that change.